How does over hunting, over fishing, and extinction affect the ecosystem?
Basically, human activities threaten Earth’s biodiversity. Hunting and fishing can be examples of overexploitation, which generally refers to the human harvesting of wild plants or animals at rates exceeding the ability of populations of those species to rebound. For instance, the fishing industry has caused significant reduction in populations of certain game fish. The extermination of keystone species by humans, such as hunting sea otters, has lead to major changes in the structure of communities (in this case, to the overpopulation of sea urchins). You may want to research “Tragedy of the Commons” for more information on how overfishing and overhunting affect ecosystems. The rates of species extinction are difficult to determine under natural conditions, but the current rate of species extinction is high and is largely a result of ecosystem degradation by humans.
